Gerbie

Oh how lucky you are to know how to tat also. I have my grandmothers tatting shuttle, and I've bought 3-4 books on tatting but for the life of me I just can't seem to do it. I can knit cross stitch, crochet, and about any other king of hand work like that, but just can't seem to figure out tatting. I can't find anyone here where I live that knows how to tat. I would love to learn.
I have sewn since I made my first outfit in 4-H at age 9, I also made my clothes, and my children's clothes when they were small, mostly my daughter's, until she wanted Store bought clothes. DH insisted that we do that, and only because he got tired of listening to her complain about it. After a while she said she didn't have very many things to wear, and DH reminded her that since she wanted store bought, they were much more expensive and she couldn't have as many as she did when I was sewing for her. I think a lesson well taught. When she was in HS she wanted me to make her some things, prom dresses etc. and I sewed for her some then. I made my own wedding dress. I do some sewing for her now, but only when I want to do it as a gift. I made a few suits for my son when he was very small, but I didn't like sewing men's pants, didn't mind shirts, but hated doing front zippers and welted pockets on pants.

patdesign

My first encounters with sewing were when I was 6, my mother gave me a precious little embroidery tin with hoop, needles and floss. She transfered an iron on pattern of something, I can't remember what and how I loved that "kit" I remember learning the daisy stitch, outline, etc. My grandmother made most of my clothes until I became a teen, and they were the most beautiful dresses and I still remember them fondly. I learned to sew at 11 and have had a love affair with, color, fabric, and sewing most of my life. I embroidered by hand for many years and made most of my clothes until about 25 years ago. These days its crafts, grandaughters clothes, and quiting. Happy thoughts of folks long gone. :-)

978gray

My mother started me early - no idea why though. In my life time - She sewed for mending and the like (6 kids not enough time I imagine I was number 5 - so maybe she sewed clothes earlier), but she could mend anything. She would take me with her to the local fabric shop run by an elderly gentleman and his wife, for needles, zippers, patches etc, i have no rememberance of her buying fabric.

I have a distinct memory of it, because he told me he could guess my age and I aksed how and he said I was 4 because I had 4 fingers, I then asked him I was 4, but I had five fingers and proceeded to count and he said no that one is a thumb!

She was into crocheting - she never got the hand of knitting. She would crochet while watching TV. My older sister who is quite a bit older than me (14 years) was the knitter. Hats, mittens, socks, gloves, scarves, afghans, baby clothes etc.

When I was very young - I would make troll clothes for my trolls. I loved when she got the samples in the mail for men suits (you are talking the 1960's). I would make little troll shirts out of those little pieces of fabric.

The summer I turned 9 my mom signed me up at the local singer shop for sewing lessons. I made a green and pink polka dot jumper. I won the contest for the shop and then went on to a fashion show for the region of clothing made probably from these lessons (how big I do not know). I was the youngest there. I won that fashion show, and a battery operated portable Singer record player. My dress then was packed up and went on to a larger contest. A few months later the dress came back with a voucher, that I had won some place (not sure) for a Singer Sewing Machine. It was a basic portable machine and I still have that machine today and it still works.

Through high school, I made many of my own clothes. I developed an obsession for fabric - which contnues today. When my kids were little I sewed many of their clotes - especially the dressy ones and my daughter was a figure skater and made many of her dresses and learned how to decorate with crystals.

Now my kids a grown, and I turned to quilting about 5 or 6 years ago.

I quilt to relax. Every day I come home from work and spend 45 - 60 minutes "puttering" in my sewing room. Sometimes quilts come out of my efforts. I firmly believe a hand made gift is a gift full of love.